Joycon Customization 101: A Comprehensive Guide to Swapping Shells

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Hey everyone, just wanted to apologize for the audio quality sounding different from the halfway point onwards. This project was started over 6 months ago, and I had some trouble getting the audio to match up when I went to finish it. However, I hope you found the video helpful regardless. If you decided to try this project yourself of swapping out your Joy-Con shells, let me know in the comments which color you picked! Happy modding! 🎮✨

[@_inkke]

this video was a really great guide and didn’t rush anything. while the process was kinda stressful, it also was pretty fun and i find myself wanting to swap another joycon now lol

[@Spaceworld-95]

Hey man, i had fully changed both joycon's shells, this is a really helpful guide. Just wanted to say thanks!

[@obviouslygregg]

Incredible guide, best video I've seen. I just swapped my white switch OLED joycons that were starting to turn yellowish for the classic transparent ones. Looks so good and the process was much easier than I thought it would be!

[@WistfulKnave00]

My fiances joycons on her switch oled we picked up used are getting stick drift so I picked up the clear shell and the upgraded Gulikit joycon modules to do an upgrade too. I’m excited for this

[@goldencoyotte2647]

Thank you so much for this tutorial, I just swapped mine for the clear gradient blue/green from Extreme Rate. I'm so pleased with how they look !

[@laetitialips]

I did mine with emerald green and they look fire ! no regrets so far :-)

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I bet that looks great! Happy to hear you got it swapped over without issues.

[@Zaque-TV]

Dude i was with you the whole way and got it perfect first try! Thank you for all the detailed instructions. Like he said, have some patience and go one step at a time and it comes out so beautiful!

[@Gaming_S0ul536]

Update. Just did the Right Joycon. The results are amazing! Nintendo recently released a Zelda themed Nintendo Switch. But because it’s $350, I got some $30 Joycon shells and they work perfectly, you can’t even tell the difference.

[@Antiheld1989]

I made this swap with the clear blue dpad version along with hall sensor sticks. I used your video alongside the official one from ExtremeRate. The official one often didn't loosen the ribbon cables where you did. I guess it's a matter of preference. If you do remove them you can attach and detach the parts more which gives you more working space, and you are less likely to damage or rip off a cable. But then again, putting in the cables in my opinion is the part where you are also most likely to falsely connect or damage it. Like I said, probably a matter of preference and not of better or worse. The original video was too fast. I had to reduce playback speed and also repeat several parts of the video. Also, it did not have voice over commentary and it did have a weaker zoom. Yours was more zoomed in, had voice over, you take more time for each step and you have time markers. This makes your video far superior to the original one. Great work. REALLY loved it.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks, I'm glad you found the video helpful!! That clear blue looks great! When making the video I wanted to make it in a way I would find it easier to follow. I do find the ones from companies too fast as well and they're never zoomed in enough to show you what's going on. Great job on the swap, have fun!

[@douglasjeffries4647]

a little bit of advice for anyone struggling with the ribbon cable that screws down under the ZR button if you cannot get the cable in with the board screwed down the simply attach it before the board is screwed down (make sure the pin connectors are pointing down, and yes I had them pointing up at one point LOL) and then pull it aside slightly as you lay the battery tray down and then screw the battery tray down followed by the ribbon cable. It may take a few extra steps but if you are worried about that cable and where it's so freaking short then this may be the route for you. I also found that connecting the Amiibo sensor (or whatever it's called) quite hard so I attached the sensor to the board as well and used my pinky finger to make sure the cables were in the right position for when I put the board down on an angle to make sure the sensor is set down in the right spot. once again it may be a bit odd but if you have very shaky hands like me you always look for ways around a situation during my experience of shell swapping along with replacing the joysticks with Gulikit hall sensors and a new rail set I've learned quite a few things. I'm now considering looking for other projects or similar things..... and gods only knows after seeing the new joycon shells I just know that my family will be wanting theirs replaced as well........ I just hope that my experience in shell swapping may help some people in the future.

[@Gaming_S0ul536]

Tip for the buttons: if your buttons are moving around make sure to align them LIFTING UP THE JOYCON so that they properly set in place (instead of putting the shell on a surface and THEN putting in the buttons). That way they put in place correctly. And the grey rubber can fully enclose the buttons, fully stopping them from moving.

[@Miihnenaa]

Kei, you are the best! Thank you so much for this tutorial, I cant believe I managed to swap it and it still works LOL I had white ones and swapped for the Splatoon version I always wanted. You are really good explaining things, second time I managed to adventure myself on this kind of thing. First was with your tutorial too, my Loki Zero. Keep up the awesome videos!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad I could help! Great job on the shell swap! I try my best to make all my tutorials easy to follow detailing all the steps, as that's how I'd want to view them as well.

[@chocho2188]

Thanks ! Great tutorial!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks! Quite a bit of work but the results are worth it. Especially for that transparent red shell.

[@juddr2001]

One of the best videos on how to do this! Great work!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks, that's always nice to hear.

[@ghostguy_x7085]

Xbox and ps: ya we got pre made see through controllers. Nintendo: yes we have them, sold separately. do it yourself.

[@kakakrabbypatty1234]

The resistor near the battery got messed up so it can no longer connect wirelessly. Going to get a replacement motherboard since everything else is fine

[@lss51688]

I ne er comment on videos but i got to on this! Thank you so much for you awesome guidance! My daughter wanted to switch to white joycons and i thought "sure just a few screws". Well damn was i wrong. Your soothing voice and easy step by step instructions got it done! Thanks for the help!

[@X_I_A_N]

@19:00 how do you take the rail completely off? do you have a video showing how to detach the battery ribbon? Thank you!

[@hope5900]

Life saver ❤

[@Un_cr3atlve]

If you guys wanna take this project next level and match your colors to the digital one i recommend joycon tool kit

[@advancedillusions]

thank you for the great video!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad it helped!

[@douglasjeffries4647]

great guide and it has helped me but I had to go back about 5-6 times for each section just to make sure that I hadn't made a mistake....... that was just the left controller and it took me 4 hours so I could be sure not to make a mistake as this was my very first time ever doing something like this and I have very very shaky hands I calibrated it and the only thing that I found a bit odd and it'd probably just me being used to the standard joysticks in a controller but I found these joysticks moved a bit too quickly for my tastes but hey I'm sure that I'll adjust to it with very little trouble after I get the right joycon done tomorrow. Keep up the great work....... tomorrow is another adventure in doing something like this and probably a damn near heart attack when I get to the sensors......... yeah like I said earlier I have very very shaky hands lol.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

You got this! Just take your time, no rush. Results are always nice to see once it's finished. Joysticks move too quickly? Did you upgrade to the Gulikit hall sensors?

[@douglasjeffries4647]

@@KeiRetroGaming yes of course lol I upgraded to the gulikit hall sensors, the way I saw it was if I'm going to change 1 thing in the joycon I might as well do everything to avoid having to do it all over again.

[@SuperDac101]

I sent my left joy con to nintendo a while ago. And now im trying to replace the shell and I notice one of the screws it silver and a different kind of screw. And im unable to get it off. What should I do?

[@pride7761]

Hey, I know I'm a bit late but after bending the metal piece that keeps the lock in place, it won't bend back to normal. Do you have any idea how I could fix that?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

You might need to replace the metal piece if it didn't bend back nicely.

[@yves0]

Hey, I followed your tutorial and it's really the best I've seen. I followed all your steps except I removed the JoyCon rail from the right JoyCon because it was easier for me to put the mainboard back in. My problem now is that my JoyCon LED doesn't light up, the JoyCon doesn't work when it's not connected directly to the Switch, and the Switch's battery indicator on the JoyCon is red, showing that it doesn't seem to be charging. What can I do to fix this problem? I have rebuilt the battery in and out several times so far, but that has not helped. And I have also reconnected the 2 ribbon cables that connect to the rail, but that has not fixed my problem either. The battery is firmly in and the ribbon cables that lead to the rail also look like in the video. I don't think anything can be broken because this JoyCon is completely new and unused, and I only changed the shell and connected the JoyCon to a Switch for the first time after changing the shell. I look forward to your reply!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Hmm, it sounds like there may be an issue with the battery connection. Did you remove the battery cable or keep it connected like I did in the video? The battery cable is extremely delicate, so it's possible that the connection may have been pulled out inside the housing where it connects to the board. If you've already reseated the ribbon cables that connect to the rail, then it's unlikely that the issue is with those. You could also try rebooting your Switch if you haven't already, or performing a power cycle on the JoyCon itself. To power cycle the JoyCon, you'll need to disconnect the battery on the JoyCon and press a button on the front every couple of seconds for 30-60 seconds until the current is drained from the JoyCon. Then, you can plug the battery back in, reseat the two ribbons that connect to the rail, and give it a try. Hopefully, this helps resolve the situation. I understand how frustrating it can be when things don't work as expected.

[@yves0]

​@@KeiRetroGaming Okay, I have now restarted my Switch and tested the JoyCon with another Switch and it still has the problem. I also tried the tip with the power cycle on the JoyCon itself, but that did not work either, because the problem is probably not the battery, because I have the JoyCon now without battery connected to the Switch and get the same error. In addition, I have had 3 other batteries from other JoyCons installed and tested and continue to get the error. So now I would rule out that the problem is the battery, but that the error is somewhere else. I do not know where the error should be, since the buttons and the JoyStick function properly when the JoyCon is connected. It is only the battery, which is somehow not recognized and is displayed as red in the system and the JoyCon Rail LED that does not light up and does not allow the JoyCon to use wirelessly. The problem can then really only be the JoyCon Rail or do you think it can have another reason? Thanks for your help!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

It could be any number of factors. Are you sure you didn't damage any of the connections or the boards during disassembly? My guess is the connection where the battery is likely got damaged somehow, which would explain why no battery works as it's likely on the board itself not the connection from the battery. Power cycling isn't targeted at the battery itself but draining the current from the unit fixing odd issues like you've been experiencing. If every option is exhausted I would probably just recommend grabbing a replacement motherboard for that joycon online and installing it. Without doing the install myself or seeing any photos I have no idea what could've gone wrong. Thankfully joycon parts are plentiful online so it makes repairs like this easier.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Just an update: I had the same issue with my joycon last week and all I needed to do was let it charge fully on the switch, paired it to my phone first to verify it was working, reattached it to the switch and it started working again on it.

[@Matt-wy4jp]

This video DESERVES more views

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks! This video project was a lot of work but I wanted to make sure I covered everything and gave some handy tips as I went through the swap.

[@Matt-wy4jp]

​@@KeiRetroGaming thanks for the video its soo detailed and im gonna swap my shells very soon

[@KeiRetroGaming]

What color are you looking at swapping over to? Any favorites?

[@Matt-wy4jp]

​​​@@KeiRetroGaming im swapping it to the skyward sword edition joycons I finished it now but i stripped a screw on the left joycon while putting it back together and the left trigger feels off Shockingly the right Joycon was the easiest for me

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Happy to hear it went mostly well overall. Have fun with your new joycons and good job on the shell swap! Looks like a pretty nice shell overall from a Google search.

[@sgold1055]

Hi! I just replaced my right joy on shell after watching this, but when I play Mario Kart sometimes my character will randomly just start backing up and won’t stop. Any ideas of what issue this could be?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Sounds like drift. You'll likely need to replace the joystick to fix that.

[@KolkYT]

Thanks for the super informative video! if my ZR isn't functional and I see no creases or anything that looks like damage on the cable itself and the button physically presses fine, is it possible that the cable wasn't plugged in far enough? Like does my cable *have* to be inserted as far as shown @ 31:36 or should I just try replacing that component?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad you found the video helpful! In regards to your question, it's definitely worth double checking that the ribbon cable is properly seated. As shown in the video, try unplugging it, make sure the lock is lifted up, push it in all the way without bending the ribbon, lock the ribbon in place, and then give it a test. Reseating the cable can often fix common issues like the one you described with your ZR button. Hopefully that helps!

[@KolkYT]

@@KeiRetroGaming Thanks for the advice. I found that simply unscrewing and moving aside parts like that one (ZL, ZR, - button) and working around them as a method to avoid unplugging ribbon cables is much easier to work with for me. I ended up using that method to finish my shell swap.

[@PhredLevi]

Any tips if you accidentally ripped the latch at 7:39 completely off? 😵

[@KeiRetroGaming]

You could slot the ribbon cable in then use kapton tape to hold it in place.

[@PhredLevi]

@@KeiRetroGaming That did seem to work when I tested it but then it didn't have the rest of the install, must have slipped loose. It's got promise though so I'll open it back up and give it another go, thanks!

[@pimpnamedkane]

I tried to follow along thinking my kit came with the metal locks. I lost the spring and I didn’t even need to change them.

[@pimpnamedkane]

After stepping on the plastic clip and spring. I have to say this video was actually very helpful the most stressful thing for me was the triggers 😂.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad it worked out in the end 😀

[@MiiV2]

Hey so I finished both of my joycons. Everything’s fine so far, but when I was taking out my right stick it broke a bit of plastic off of the nfc board. The wire is fine, but it’s kinda just open there. Nothings really touching it. Is this gonna cause issues?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Should be fine but you can always use electrical tape to hold it down. You can also source the part pretty easily from AliExpress if you wanted to replace what broke.

[@k1llzdemons]

I did my left joycon perfectly but then got to the right and after putting in the tray and antenna it stopped lighting up, what did I do wrong? Is there a fix?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Double check to make sure the lights on the rail are plugged into the main board.

[@k1llzdemons]

@@KeiRetroGaming it looks plugged in but now it only works connected to the switch not wirelessly any idea what I did wrong and how to fix it?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

@@k1llzdemons Sounds like the antenna might've been damaged or maybe the ribbon cable isn't fully seated. Good news is, that part is very cheap.

[@k1llzdemons]

@@KeiRetroGaming if the antenna is damaged it will prevent the buttons from lighting up?

[@k1llzdemons]

@@KeiRetroGaming and which ribbon are you referring to?

[@turtle7190]

can i use metal tweezers? or do i absoloutly have to use the plastic ones?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Ceramic tweezers are ideal. I wouldn't recommend using metal ones as you might short out the joycon. If you're gonna use metal ones, make sure to unplug the battery first.

[@Gaming_S0ul536]

What if there’s adhesive on the screws 12:13 Nvm it wasn’t adhesive. The hole where the screw was had some stuff jacked up. Not too bad I just did the screw without the motherboard, then it fixed itself

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad you figured it out. Went well otherwise?

[@Gaming_S0ul536]

@@KeiRetroGaming Yep! :D

[@hotboy032003]

Does anyone know what is the reason for the metal lock?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

It lessens the wobble and unlike the plastic locks it won't wear away as quickly over time.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Hate to be that guy, but those screws aren't tri-wing. They're Y-Type.

[@louvella-sama]

For some reason after successfully reshelling my joycons and changing the rail/stopper with metal ones, my joycons slide off more easily than when it had the original rail locks

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Make sure everything is locked down and check the rail on the console itself. Always a good idea to go over everything once after swapping something like a shell.

[@platanopple]

I followed this tutorial and now my joycons doesn't work, lol, thanks... i guess

[@zayjayy2]

my right joycon screws are all stripped 😭

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Did you use their screwdriver? Definitely need to use the right size to avoid issues like that. You can probably get them out still just use a wider bit.

[@zayjayy2]

@@KeiRetroGaming i did but either way the screw is 100% dead

[@lauchsuppesan55]

I'm telling you, for the life of me I could not get the screws out. I've never seen anything worse than that. They must be glued with adhesive or something coz that shit ain't normal

[@RAIN_Error]

Nah fr tho getting the screws out was the hardest part